Sealed vehicle body



Aug. 13, 1935. W, 5|MM0NS, JR 2,010,932

SEALED VEHICLE BODY Filed Dec. 5. 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 13, 1935. w. w, SIMMONS. JR

SEALED VEHICLE BODY Filed Deo, 5, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2V vvv/.KQ @A Zas/7 MJA/y/ya/fa l.,

rff

Patented Aug. 13, 1935 .Thisldnventiomhaa general..reference .tdvehi cleabodies in .which; weighed,..measured or. other. wisesxedequantitestcf certain. commoditiesare deliveredvffrommthe'vendor to ttliedvendee, and.,

.izfedtaooessz-,between ,theftime and.` place: ofJload-k Y in'g and the time and place of delivery. Biltmore speoi'c reference will bet lmade .hereinafter. -to vehicle bodies such as those of coal trucks, yand lGnheeliker-which @ordinarily lreceivettheir.,contents atrthe :top-fot, thenbody` andHdischarge them at, the-freariendof -the body;` to means commento botlma .topqclosure` ymember andtany ,end closure member "fon-apreventingzaunauthorizedaccess to litheiiinteiionfofe-such:body either `at the topT or 1 at@ thez'fend; rand; comprehensively, Ito 1a `'metl'iodforffsealingi:suchbodies:

" Especiallyvinz theccase-uof xcoalwintended for domesticrms-x ylosses to; `purchasers between:` theirA point?-atiwhichtheiload is l:weighed "andi the-f ressibielto guard" againstf "them: Myi 4 present 'in-r Vientiane-contemplates equipping hthe 'truck Fwitli a slidable l or`hingedtop/closure member; iiraddiV^` tioirto theusual'upwardly=slidableor outir'fardly'-A arid-downwardly"-"pivotally' movable" "tail-board? providingecuring means.. common to said'top`` closure"memberand said tail-board for retaining both thereof in closed position; and applying tosuch retaining means a seal, preferably such 4as*r commonly is used for sealing the box car type of railway cars, so that access cannot` be `had to the interior of the truck, either at the top or at the end, without breaking such sealing means. kWhen the truck has been loaded, and

either before or at the time it and its load are weighed the `seal is applied, and is intended to remain Vunbroken until the truck reaches the v"place of delivery and the seal is broken in the presence of the purchaser or rhis authorized representative.

{The primary object of the present invention is lt o'provide a vehicle body to the interior of which .openings, having` means common to said closure` members for retaining them in closed position,

and:` such retaining means being adapted to re,-

jceivhe a seal or the like, which must be broken or defaced before any one of said closure members can be moved toaiford accessto the 'interioroi kf. saidbody.l c, Afurther Objectis to provideja movable,top;`A` closure merribe`1"-for.a" vehicle body havinggan" open to'p.and having La lateraiopening afford-f ingmacces's. to" the' Ainteriorlof such body. 'a j movable. closure member forV said opening, and" to `associate with'said 'two closure members' a. singlelmeansior retainingthem" both in'closed position, A such. means i being. adapted to receive om@ j 1 a seal., or., the.. like. whichmustv bei` broken lozffde-4 1 faced .befo're. either` of said, closure Vmeans canjbe' movedl toward open'position. c, c I And asti-ll further object'is toprovide a method for preventingunauthorized access to the interior 5151;K

of a vehicle `bodyhavinga pluralityofopenings thereinto,4 which consists in equipping.` `such body!Y with@.movablaclosure member for each of sai d` openingspassocia'ting with said i closure f members 1 a 1single means forretaining them in"`closed posi`` tion,4'andl applying .l tov saidUretainiI-i'g f.meansag seal or the like which must` be. `broken` or ,de-,` faced-before said 4retaining means., can be"A op?` eratedtofrelieve said closure membei'sfor opevnfi ing:movement. t i l The Fmeansl `by, `which the foregoing' and: other l objects are accomplished bymy present invention, andethemannerof their accomplishment, readily will be. `understood from the following description, hav-ing. reference `to* i the accompanyingdrawings,4 imwhichi.- 3 A, i

Fi'g. l is a sectional side elevation of theiboclyA polltior-i-lfoiY fa vehicle shaving my-- Yimprovement's applied thereto.`

Fig.` 2 is a top plan View of the same.

Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are enlarged broken sec- 1 tional detail views, the sections respectively being taken on line III-III, line IV-IV, line V-V, and line VI-VI, of Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a broken sectional side elevation of a portion of an 'alternate form of vehicle body having a hinged top closure member, and havingmy improvements applied thereto.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged broken sectional detail view, the section being taken transversely of the rod upon which the top closure member of Fig.

'7 is pivotable.

Referring first to Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive, the reference numeral I 0 indicates the cab of the vehicle, which has the usual wheels I I and springs I2 (only one of each of the latter being shown) said vehicle being of a type commonly used for transporting coal, and having the usual hinged tail board I3, which is pivotally movable outward and downward on a pivot-rod passingthrough hinges I5 secured at the rear end of ythe floor It of the vehicle body. The load-retaining portion of the truck body is indicated by the numeral Il, and since the side of truck bodies of this type frequently are higher at the forward end of the body than elsewhere, a grille or the like IB is added to each side so as to render it uniform overall height throughout. The top of the vehicle body is closed by a stationary grille or screen member I9 and a similar member 2B which is slidable insubstantially U-shaped guide member 2| mounted upon the respective sides of the vehicle body. Rearward movement of said slidable closure member is limited by so positioning the members I9 and 20 that the rear frame piece 21 of the grille or screen I9 is in position to be engaged by the forward frame piece 22 of the slid-` able closure member 2D.

' vA rear-end closure member 23 is pivotally secured by a rod 24 to the rear edge of the member 20 by clips 25 so that when member 20 is inr closed position the closure member 23 hangs substantially vertical, and a hasp 25, secured at the middle of the lower edge of said member, is in position to engage a staple 25 secured near the upper edge of the tail-board I3. A railway-type seal, comprising a` metal strip 2B and a lead button 29 which upon being compressed secures the l,two end portions of said strip together, being em- `ployed for retaining hasp 25 against disengagement from the staple 26. Before access 'can be had to the interior of the truck body, either at the top or at the rear end, and before the tail-board I3 can be dropped to permit the contents of the body to be discharged therefrom, the seal must be broken and removed fromv the staple 25 so that the hasp 25 can be detached'from said staple.

When the member 29 is to be movedslidably fory, ward so` as `to open the top of the vehicle body,

the hinged member 23 may be swung upward and forward so that it will rest upon the grille or screen of the member 20.

`In the alternate design of truck body shown in Figsf? and 8, the grille or screen member 2BA is pivotally connected by means of hinges 3G with the stationary grille or screen member 59A, but otherwise the details of the body are substantially thesame as those shown in the other figures of the drawings. Manifestly the grille or screen member I9, or I9A, may beA made removable if complete opening of the top of the body is desired.

' As will be evident from the foregoingdescription, the salient feature of my present invention resides in the provision of means and a method for preventing unauthorized removal of any portion of the contents of a vehicle body which is intended to receive its load through the top of such body, and to discharge it at the rear end. This sort of vehicle body is typified by trucks such as commonly are used for delivery of coal for domestic use, and, while the invention readily is adaptablelto other vforms ofA vehicle bodies, it is especially applicable to coal trucks.

A further important-feature is to provide a top closure having a movable portion which is housed and supported in all positions, thus rendering it unnecessary to prop up or otherwise support such portion when it is opened to permit loading the vehicle and one which is thus inherently protected against accidental destruction or disarrangement consequent on carelessness of the operator,v l 4 Various changes in minor details of the vehicle body, the top and rearend closures, and the closure-retaining means, doubtless readily will suggest themselves to those skilled inthis art,

and 1 therefore do not desire to have my inveni tion limited to any details not specifically;

claimed.

yHaving now fully disclosed by invention, what"A I claim is:

A vehicle body having a bottom, sides, an' inner end and a fixed member forming a closure for a' portion only of the top, the remainder of saidtop and the outer'end of said body being open-to permit loading and unloading respectively of said body; an end member hingedly secured tothe outer end of said bottom adapted to form a partial end closure for the body, a movable closure menrber toform a closure for the open portion of said top, an end closure Vmember complementaiyto said hinged end closure and movably carried by the movable top closure member,` said fixed tcpl closure member' and said'movable Atop closure member carrying intereengaging means limiting closure movement of the movable top closure member, and said end member which is carried by said movable topy closure member being adapted to engage fixed portions of saidbody to prevent retrogressive movement thereof when said end closure members are secured together,` and 

